A look at the 'Top 10' news stories of 2008

By Anna Rochelle

STAFF WRITER

Greene County was declared a disaster area in June 2008 after record rainfall caused the rivers to rise to levels not seen in over 100 years -- it was the "Great Flood of 2008."

A report on the flooding issued by the National Weather Service said on June 6--7, heavy rainfall of at least two to more than 10 inches in some places fell upon saturated soils and added to already high stream flows from a wetter-than-normal spring in central and southern Indiana. The precipitation totals for the period from March through May ranged from over 120 up to 180 percent higher than normal.

The heavy rainfall resulted in severe flooding on many streams within the White River Basin during June 7--9, causing three deaths, evacuation of thousands of residents, and hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to residences, businesses, infrastructure, and agricultural lands. In all, 39 Indiana counties were declared Federal disaster areas.

The Great Flood of 2008 now stands among the three worst floods in Greene County history -- the other two were in August of 1875 and March of 1913.

In all three floods, the White River was already extensively flooded, the watershed was very wet, then another big deluge of rain came resulting in extreme flooding.

Readings taken on the White River at Elliston west of Bloomfield surpassed the 1913 flood level by 1.25 feet and came within six inches of the estimated height of the 1875 flood.

The town of Worthington was particularly hard hit as Eel River backed up causing water to flow into the north side of town on Saturday evening, June 7.

By Sunday evening, June 8, floodwater had claimed several homes. By the time it was over, several blocks had been flooded and over 100 homes and businesses had been damaged by floodwater or collapsed foundations or basements.

The floodwater from the Eel River also flowed around the west edge of the town and then the south side, claiming still more homes and businesses and effectively turning the town into an island since White River lies to the east.

In a phenomena no living person had ever seen, floodwaters from the Eel covered State Road 67 south of Worthington and washed away the grade under the railroad track from Worthington to the intersection of SR 67 and 57.

On Sunday afternoon, June 8, a couple of hours before all roads in every direction became impassable for a time, residents were advised to evacuate -- a few with medical conditions did leave but most chose to stay and ride it out despite concern that an ambulance would be unable to get into town in case of a medical emergency.

An air ambulance was set up on standby in Bloomfield; an emergency shelter was set up in the school; food, water and emergency supplies were flown in on an Indiana National Guard Blackhawk helicopter; neighbors helped neighbors; and street crews, police and firefighters worked round the clock. Luckily, no injuries or medical emergencies were reported.

Worthington's situation prompted Gov. Mitch Daniels to visit the surrounded town. He flew in flew in on a helicopter then walked through town to talk to flood victims.

More damage and record flood crests followed from north to south in Greene County throughout the White River Basin.

Floodwater claimed an extensive amount of agricultural crop acreage, surrounded rural homes, covered county roads, damaged bridges and caused numerous water rescues of stranded residents.

Areas around Newberry were also hard hit and volunteers sandbagged for long hours to save the McGinnis Levee.

The Bloomfield area was recovering from two tornadoes that had touched down during severe storms on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 3-4. Less than a week later, they were cut off from driving west when floodwater covered "the grade" west of town on SR 54 east of the Veterans Memorial Bridge over White River. Areas on the south end of Bloomfield also flooded causing businesses to close and Shawnee Theater to cancel a show. The town-wide yard sale scheduled for the weekend was also canceled.

In Jasonville, flooding caused a water main to break resulting in a crisis situation -- 7,200 people were without running water for days. Emergency water supplies were brought in while crews worked around the clock for a few days to fix the break. Water was delivered to the homes of shut-ins and the elderly, others picked up water at a central distribution site. To help the emergency crews working overtime during the crisis, an Indianapolis fire department sent trucks and crews down to provide welcome relief for 48 hours.

Hundreds of Greene County residents and businesses were impacted by the events in June, as well as many county and town governments and departments. Although volunteers devoted thousands of man-hours and disaster relief funds were made available, by the end of the year, the recovery was still not complete -- many budgets were still awaiting the arrival of their relief funds.

No. 2 -- Twisters hit Bloomfield area

By Anna Rochelle

STAFF WRITER

A trio of twisters that touched down in the Bloomfield area in 2008 blew several roofs off, smashed homes and vehicles with uprooted trees and littered the landscape with debris.

The town of Bloomfield was hit hard when the first one, an EF-1 tornado, touched down on Tuesday evening, Feb. 5.

Then during the first week of June, strong storms again roared across the land and two more tornadoes touched down in the Bloomfield area.

When the first June tornado struck around 11 a.m. on Tuesday, June 3, the most severe damage was in rural areas east of Bloomfield. Residents around the rural community of Park saw significant damage along with areas near the old Wildcat School off of County Road 175E in Richland Township. The June 3 tornado then continued on to hit Popcorn and Heltonville in Lawrence County.

The National Weather Service (NWS) reported the damage in Bloomfield on June 3 was caused by straight line winds but they did observe tornadic activity running through Park.

The town of Bloomfield took another direct hit around 7 a.m. on Wednesday, June 4, when the second June tornado touched down west of town, marched through the streets and continued on to do more damage to the east. The NWS noted damage caused by the June 4 storm included trees that were split in two or had their bark peeled off or were totally uprooted. Streets were littered with limbs and branches, leaves and debris.

Though both of the June tornadoes caused significant damage, they were both called "low-grade" tornadoes in a NWS assessment.

The February tornado was stronger -- it rated EF-1 on a scale from EF-1 to EF-5 with EF-5 being the most severe.

The NWS assessment reported the February tornado to be 100-200 feet wide with wind speeds estimated around 100 mph as it roared through Bloomfield.

The path of its destruction began just south of the town's water treatment plant, continued northeast through town and lifted off the ground about three miles north of town.

Several dozen homes, garages and outbuildings received significant wall and roof damage and at least one home was totally destroyed. Bloomfield School buildings also received damage. Numerous trees were uprooted or snapped by the winds and eyewitnesses reported seeing swirling debris during the storm. The landscape of the Bloomfield Town Park was changed forever with many of its big shade trees downed along with a sturdy goal on the basketball court.

Miraculously, no injuries were reported.

After the February touchdown, help came to Bloomfield immediately from across the county. Besides local, county and state police officers, within 15 minutes after it hit, 50 firefighters from five different departments were on the scene ready to help. Through the long night that followed, they went door-to-door checking on people and re-routed traffic around downed trees and power lines.

At daybreak, the clean-up began with volunteers coming from all directions to aid the people in Bloomfield as Greene County was declared a disaster area.

Damage from the February tornado was estimated at $1.25 million which included $250,000 to the Bloomfield Elementary School.

After the June tornadoes hit, a state of emergency was declared in Greene County on June 4. Besides the damage in and around Bloomfield, power lines were down in several areas and large numbers of county residents were without power. Trees blocked roads and streets and part of the roof was blown off the office building of the Utilities District of Western Indiana REMC.

The tornadoes in June were the beginning of a rough week in Greene County -- a few days later, a water main break in Jasonville caused a crisis situation and left 7,200 residents without running water. Then as record rains continued to fall, by the weekend after the tornadoes, both the White and Eel Rivers rose to record levels not seen in over 100 years. Well over 100 homes were severely flood-damaged, many residents were evacuated to higher ground, travel routes across the county were cut-off by flooded roads leaving hundreds stranded, volunteers were sandbagging the McGinnis Levee and farmers in the White River Valley from north to south suffered severe crop losses -- all in one week in June.

No. 3 National Guard returns safely from Iraq

By Nick Schneider

ASSISTANT EDITOR

For loved ones of Indiana National Guard members assigned to armories in Linton, Vincennes, Washington and other Hoosier communities, the year 2008 was spent waiting, worrying and praying.

It ended in late November, with a joyous pre-dawn return ceremony at Stout Field in Indianapolis.

Five days later the troops received a hero's welcome back to Greene County in an emotional reunion parade of more than three dozen fire trucks, ambulances and police cars that accompanied the two buses carrying the hometown heroes back from their nine-month combat mission in Iraq.

The Guardsmen were greeted by an impressive patriotic display -- highlighted by a giant American flag salute with a massive-sized flag draped between the aerial trucks from the Jasonville and Bloomfield fire departments along State Road 54 -- directly across the road from the armory.

Several hundreds family members, friends and community residents lined the driveway of the armory -- proudly waving miniature American flags, holding up welcome home and greeting signs and snapping photographs.

Unit Commander Lt. Andrew Wood drew a large round of applause when he said, "I am very proud of these guys and I know you are too. We started out with 132 boots on the ground whenever we embarked on this journey. We had some injuries along the way. We've got some people still at Camp Atterbury getting taken care of. We've got some people in Georgia. These guys traveled on the most dangerous routes in Iraq and we suffered no loss of life. No loss of limb and the good Lord has blessed us and I thank him for that."

Alpha Company -- numbering about 130 -- was part of the 3,400 soldiers of the 76th Brigade and were part of the largest active duty combat mobilization of the Indiana National Guard since World War II.

The Guardsmen received their active duty orders to report in early December 2007 to begin their mobilization activities at local armories and then at Camp Atterbury, located near Edinburgh.

On Jan. 2, the RCA Dome in Indianapolis hosted the largest going away party in the Indiana's history.

The Indianapolis Colts, Gov. Mitch Daniels and the state of Indiana paid tribute to Hoosiers assigned to the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team before it departed on its journey that will take them to Iraq and back.

The event marked a hallowed and honored day for those close to the Indiana National Guard's 76th IBCT, who rallied under the dome to bid a fond farewell to more than 3,400 soldiers called to duty.

Packing stands along the dome's eastern half, thousands of loved ones and supporters braved cold weather and choked back swells of emotion to see off one of the largest deployments in Indiana since World War II.

Among the dignitaries in attendance were Colts President Bill Polian, who said that while the dome has had many memorable moments in the past, it marked a truly monumental occasion.

"I've heard that this place referred to as the 'Hall of Heroes' before," Polian said, "but those heroes don't wear the numbered sports jerseys; instead, they choose to wear the uniforms and insignia of Indiana's finest, the American soldier."

After the ceremony the troops headed to Fort Stewart, Ga., for final their mobilization training for about six weeks before heading to missions in Iraq.

Happiness, relief and pure joy was etched on each of their faces as the Guardsmen came home.

It was blessing for their loved ones to have them back home.

Members of Company A, 1-151st performed their mission well for the cause of freedom and the fight against global terrorism.

The Company A soldiers -- based at the Linton Armory -- completed 210 combat logistics patrols transporting more than 7,800 foreign national loads and 3,800 contractor and U.S. military loads across Iraq.

For Lt. Wood -- the commanding officer for Company A, 1-151st -- coming home was described as "pure happiness."

"To bring all these guys back from deployment and to have been on the most dangerous roads in Iraq, I couldn't want anything more. I am very proud of these guys, very proud," he said. "We did hundreds and hundreds of missions and went hundreds of thousands of miles and we brought them all back. It's good to be home."

First Sgt. Darrin Carlson, of Clay City, completed his third overseas deployment -- once to Bosnia and twice to Iraq in 2003 -- when the mission was to find IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and this year, when the primary mission for convoy support.

He said having a high level of military experience from several members of Alpha Company helps things out.

"I would say 60 percent of my company had been deployed more than once," he said. "Those things made this mission safer. That experience level, the maturity level that always helps. That makes it easier for the younger soldiers -- the newer ones -- to pick up fast what they need to learn over there," he pointed out.

Carlson, who works as an officer at Wabash Valley Correctional Facility at Carlisle, admitted it was good to be back home.

"It's always a good feeling to get everyone home. We got everyone home in once piece," he said with a smile.

No. 4 -- MainSource Bank robbery

By Timberly Ferree

staff writer

A robbery at the downtown Linton branch of MainSource Bank alarmed the community in September.

Steven McIntyre, 21, of rural Jasonville, was arrested in connection with the incident and later plead guilty to a single count of armed robbery with a deadly weapon -- a class B felony.

According to court documents, McIntyre carrying a long rifle -- came into the bank, walked up to the teller counter and demanded the cash. He told the teller to put the money into a Hannah Montana backpack.

He allegedly made off with $2,714 in small bills -- most of which was recovered by police. Some of the heist money was used to purchase a used car and also make purchases at two area stores.

In December, McIntyre was sentenced to 12 years in the Department of Corrections, with two of those years suspended.

Along with McIntyre's arrest were the arrests of three others in connection with the incident.

Tanya (Salesman) Finley, of Linton, was taken into custody by LPD officers and was charged with assisting a criminal -- a class D felony.

Finley was released after posting bond. Her trial is set for Feb. 10 with a pre-trial on Jan. 20.

Paul W. Page and his wife, Jessica L. Page, both 20, of 790 NE 2nd Street, were also taken into custody in connection with the bank robbery.

Both were booked into the Greene County Jail in Bloomfield on preliminary charges of receiving stolen property and assisting a criminal. Bond for each was set at $8,000.

Paul Page posted bond and was released from the Greene County Jail. His jury trial is set for Feb. 3 with a pre-trial set for Jan. 13.

Jessica Page was released from jail after posting bond. A jury trial has been set for Feb. 17 with a pre-trial hearing on Jan. 27.

According to court documents, both Paul and Jessica Page admitted to going shopping with McIntrye with the bank robbery money at Goody's and Wal-Mart in Linton. They are alleged to have purchased some clothes, stereo speakers and other items, which have been confiscated by police.

Police also recovered some of the "bank money" from the Pages that had allegedly been given to them by McIntryre, according to Linton Police Chief Troy Jerrell.

No. 5 -- 2008 Election

By Timberly Ferree

STAFF WRITER

Greene County's 2008 fall election was full of history-making moments as well as some upsets and surprises.

Dena Benham Martin was elected to serve as the first female judge for the county's superior court.

Benham Martin, a Republican, beat out Democrat Jacob Fish in a tight race.

Martin received a total of 7,297 votes while Fish received a total of 6,098 votes.

But, some races -- like the one for a spot on the county council -- weren't so easily determined.

The disputed county council race between Republican incumbent Ken Gremore and his Democrat challenger Rae Della Cravens was at a standstill until the end of the year.

Original election results placed Cravens' ahead of Gremore by a mere vote -- which brought a recount into play.

But the recount only made things tighter as it ended in another deadlock -- with each candidate having 6,370 votes.

From there the tie-breaker was given to the county council where party lines divided evenly as Cravens received three votes from Democrats John Wilkes, William "Butch" Brown and Brent Murray and Republicans Ed Cullison, Ed Michael and Jim Oliphant backed incumbent Gremore.

The deadlock was then handed to the county commissioners.

On Dec. 29, Cravens was given the spot after the final vote was 2-1. Democrats Bart Beard and Bill Sipes voted for Cravens, and Republican Kathy Crouch voted for Gremore.

In the race for a spot on the Eastern Greene School Board things also turned interesting.

Originally, the four winners included Jim Yoho (1,245 votes), Rob Hudson (1,234 votes) Shelly Patterson (1,201 votes) and Troy Fields (1,117 votes).

But there seemed to be a conflict of interest with the man with the most votes.

The election of Yoho came under scrutiny from the school board's attorney who pointed out that Yoho would have to decide whether to serve on the board or continue his employment with the school district because of state law and local board bylaws.

Yoho's keeping his job and will not accept the position as a member of the school board.

The decision as to who will assume Yoho's seat will be made by the six who are on the board in January.

Other election winners included:

* Republican Ira "Butch" Wright beat out his Democratic opponent, Timothy E. Jones.

* Democrat Steve Lindsey beat out Republican Nathan Abrams in the commissioner District 2 race.

* County Commissioner Kathy Crouch, a Republican, was defeated by Democrat Kermit Holtsclaw for the District 1 seat.

* Democrat Shelby Meurer landed the spot of county treasurer after defeating Republican Stuart Dowden.

No. 6 - Jail inmates have sex

By Nick Schneider

ASSISTANT EDITOR

In mid-November, six inmates in the Greene County Jail in Bloomfield were linked to an escape plot that involved at least three male and three female prisoners who engaged in sexual encounters.

The six are alleged to have moved through the ceiling from their respective segregated cellblocks to engage in "conjugal visits" on at least a dozen occasions dating back at least two months.

They also brewed some homemade liquor using raisins from cereal issued at breakfast.

The story drew national attention -- moving on the Associated Press wire around the globe from original news reports in the Greene County Daily World.

Mention of the after-hours jailhouse encounters also made it to Jay Leno's monologue on Tonight Show that appears on the NBC television network.

The inmates were formally charged with escape -- a class C felony -- on and arrest warrants issued through Greene Superior Court. Their respective court dates are set in the early part of 2009.

They include:

* William N. Hutcherson, Jr., 44, Bloomfield, being held for a probation violation.

* Jesse B. Ross, 38, Linton, being held for possession of a controlled substance.

ª Alexander Rathburn, 17, Bloomfield, being held for burglary, theft and possession of stolen property.

* Misty M. Moore, 21, Bloomfield, being held on theft, possession of stolen property and forgery charges.

* Kay C. Snyder, 27, Springville, being held for criminal recklessness and battery with bodily injury.

* Nicole Halderman, 26, Linton, being held for possession of a controlled substance.

Greene County Sheriff Terry Pierce told the Greene County Daily World that the plot came to light Oct. 8 after jail employees David Sparks, Roberta Pierce, Marlene Newby, and Denise Andrew conducted a search of a male and female celblock and uncovered letters that detailed the clandestine meetings that had been going on between the inmates out of the view of security cameras.

Letters recovered in a search of cellblock F-1 (the female lockup) indicated that the inmates had made their way through the ceiling area, making contact with each other -- including sexual activity, according to a probable cause affidavit filed by Greene County Sheriff's Department Det. George Dallaire.

The two cellblocks are located side by side and separated by a concrete wall, according to Sheriff Pierce. He said it's the only area in the jail that has "dorm" style accommodates. There are six beds on the female side and 12 in the male cellblock.

The movements from one cellblock to another was thought to have begun in early September.

One female inmate told police that her cellmates Halderman and Moore began the after-midnight meetings in the male cellblock after they were successful after months of trying to pry open some ceiling tiles using a shower drain cover, Dallaire wrote in his probable cause affidavit that was presented to the Greene County Prosecutor's office.

The female inmates used the shower drain cover as a tool and then "head-butted" the ceiling tile to gain entry, according to court records.

The inmate told police that when Snyder was booked into the jail the encounters became "an every night occurrence."

The three woman are alleged to have placed a plastic laundry hamper on top of Halderman's bunk bed -- out of the view of a security camera -- and stood on it to reach the loosen ceiling tile and climb over the male cellblock.

The inmate also told authorities that Hutcherson -- who was known as "Nick" -- and Ross came over to the female cell block. She said Hutcherson came over to the cellblock "to see" another female inmate, Jeanie Stephens, two times. The inmate alleged that Ross came to have an encounter with Halderman "three or four times."

She also told police that notes of letter passing from the male cellmates and female cellmates were common and stated that laundry and food trays were the most common ways to transport them.

Through interviews, police learned that encounters would be initiated after midnight -- when the jail commander was off work, according to court documents.

One male inmate, who was interviewed by police, stated that he witnessed Moore, Halderman and Snyder come into the male cell block "at least 15 times" during his incarceration, Dallaire wrote in his probable cause affidavit.

He told Dallaire that when the trio of female inmates would enter the male cellblock, they would "hang out, play cards and have sex with some of the male inmates."

Sheriff Pierce said the incidents are "embarrassing" to he and his staff, but he pointed out that he has been aware of design flaws in the jail that was constructed in 1994.

Pierce acknowledged that the inmates are crafty and with plenty of time on their hands, situations like this can occur.

"If your facility has a flaw, if you house prisoners in it, they will show you (the flaws). They will find it," he said.

Pierce said he was glad that the inmates were not able to breach to the outside area and escape the facility.

The sheriff said the jail's security camera system needs improved to curtail what he called "blind spots" that allowed this incident to go on undetected for an extended period while the facility was being staffed.

"The camera system was not sufficient when it was put in. ... We don't have a camera in every cell," Pierce told the Greene County Daily World.

"We're going to have to find a way to have a better security system," he concluded. "We are looking for some grant money."

The sheriff acknowledged that a similar incident -- using passage through the ceiling area -- had occurred at least once before. Also, an inmate actually was able to leave the jail premises for a short time several years ago when he found passage through a shower head opening.

No. 7 -- Lehman case ends in mistrial

By Jo Chiparo

Staff Writer

In December 2008, a jury was unable to reach a verdict in the trial of W. Jeff Lehman, Greene County Democrat chairman, on charges that he attacked a woman at the Greene County Shrine Club campground and then tried to stop her from calling 911.

The judge declared a mistrial after jurors deliberated for more than five hours on the charges against Lehman.

Lehman testified during the trial denying that he choked Allen and said he was trying to avoid her when she came into a Linton bar the night the altercation began.

It will be up to the prosecutor whether to seek a new trial on the misdemeanor charges of battery, disorderly conduct and interference with the reporting of a crime.

Lehman's troubles began when there was an investigation into an incident reported to the Greene County Sheriff's Dept. on Nov. 16, 2007 by Misty Allen of Linton.

On the day of the incident, Lehman and Allen had spent the afternoon at Lehman's residence at the Shrine Club, but that evening, the two exchanged angry words at a Linton business. The altercation intensified later that night at Lehman's residence.

Lehman turned himself in on Jan. 4, 2008 after an arrest warrant was issued by the Greene County Circuit Court Judge Erik Allen, on Jan 3.

Lehman was incarcerated at the county jail in Bloomfield for a 12-hour period and released on a $6,500 bond after being booked on preliminary charges of strangulation, a class D felony; interference with the reporting of a crime, a class A misdemeanor; disorderly conduct, a class B misdemeanor; a battery resulting in bodily injury, a class A misdemeanor.

Lehman has said that he would not resign his position as Greene County Democrat Chairman that he has held for 12 years. He is also head of the Linton Gas and Water Department.

Linton Mayor Tom Jones says Lehman is innocent until proven guilty and that he is a "good employee" and will remain employed by the city.

No. 8 -- Three Shootings

By Nick Schneider

ASSISTANT EDITOR

The year 2008 saw three shootings -- two which resulted in fatal gunshot wounds.

No criminal charges were filed in two of the shootings, which were determined by investigators to be in self defense.

Charges in the third case are still not determined -- pending the completion of Indiana State Lab tests and investigation.

The first shooting occurred June 28.

State, county and Linton police investigated the shooting incident at a residence on State Road 59 -- south of Linton.

Jarrett E. "J.J." Nicholson, 26, died in the early morning incident.

On July 3, Greene County Prosecutor Jarrod Holtsclaw announced that no criminal charges would be filed in connection with the shooting at the Michael R. Gallagher II residence.

Gallagher told police that Nicholson had come inside his residence without permission and refused to leave when asked. Gallagher also stated that Nicholson was threatening to beat and kill him and that the Nicholson then began to beat him.

Gallagher then stated that he shot Nicholson and that he was transported to Greene County General Hospital by Paul Roby on a motor scooter.

Nicholson was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Holtsclaw said detectives from the Indiana State Police interviewed Gallagher, Roby and several other individuals who were with either Gallagher or Nicholson during the evening of June 27 or early morning hours of June 28.

"Based upon the investigation conducted by the Indiana State Police, in cooperation with the agencies listed above, no criminal charges will be filed against Michael R. Gallagher II. The investigation, including Gallagher's first 911 call which was made while Nicholson was threatening Gallagher, revealed that Gallagher was acting in self-defense when he shot Jarrett Edward Nicholson inside his own home. The evidence showed that Paul Roby transported Nicholson to the Gallagher residence so that Nicholson could confront Gallagher over comments Gallagher made to Gallagher's girlfriend earlier in the evening," Holtsclaw stated. "Nicholson then entered Gallagher's home without permission, refused to leave when ordered to by Gallagher, threatened to kill Gallagher and then beat Gallagher about the body and in the head causing injury. Gallagher eventually shot Nicholson while Nicholson was on top of Gallagher and punching Gallagher in the head."

Holtsclaw concluded, "Based upon the facts of this particular incident, Michael R. Gallagher II was justified under Indiana Law in shooting Jarrett Edward Nicholson in order to protect himself from serious bodily injury while in his own home."

Another shooting happened during the early morning hours on July 6 inside a residence at 410 East Locust Street in Jasonville.

The victim, Jeremy V. Hauger, 25, of Bloomington, was initially transported to Greene County General Hospital in Linton and then later to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis where he received medical treatment for a gunshot wound to the face.

On Nov. 19, Greene County Prosecutor Holtsclaw announced that no criminal charges would be filed in connection with the July 6 shooting of Hauger.

Holtsclaw said the investigation by Indiana State Police detectives and the Greene County Sheriff's Department revealed that Craig Wade acted in "self-defense" when he shot Hauger inside his own home at 410 East Locust Street in Jasonville.

Holtsclaw explained by saying, "The evidence showed that Hauger had been present at a party hosted by Wade earlier in the evening. During the evening, Hauger drank to the point of extreme intoxication. Wade eventually asked Hauger to leave his property early in the morning and Hauger refused. Hauger shortly thereafter entered Wade's home armed with a knife and began threatening Wade and his female friend. Hauger was again ordered to leave, but instead confronted Wade with a knife. Wade then shot Hauger one time with a bolt action .22 caliber rifle."

The prosecutor said the case falls under Indiana Code 35-41-3-2, which states a person is justified in using deadly force and does not have duty to retreat if the person reasonably believes that the force is necessary to prevent serious bodily injury or death or the commission of a forcible felony. Further a person is justified in using reasonable force, including deadly force, against another person and does not have a duty to retreat if the person reasonably believes that the force is necessary to prevent or terminate the other person's unlawful entry of or attack on the dwelling, curtilage or occupied motor vehicle."

Hauger at the time of the incident had a blood-alcohol contest three times legal limit in the state of Indiana, according to Holtsclaw.

As the year ended, the prosecutor said he is still awaiting for crime lab evidence to be processed in another pending Greene County shooting case before he can determine if any criminal charges can be filed.

Everette "Mike" Smith, 58, of rural Bloomfield, died from a gunshot wound to the head that was inflicted on Aug. 7 -- allegedly in a property-line dispute with his next door neighbor.

The neighbor, Bobby Gunter, is alleged to have fired the fatal shot from a 38-caliber handgun.

The incident happened at Route 4, Box 722 on County Road 950E, south of State Road 54.

The brother of the victim -- Bill "Dub" Smith, of Bloomington -- said the neighbors allegedly had been arguing for several days about the location of a property line so a fence could be erected and the altercation turned physical.

Dub Smith said he heard Gunter issue a threat against his brother, three days before the incident.

Smith is frustrated that no one has been arrested in the case.

"I want him (Gunter) to go to trial and be found guilty of murder because to me, it's pre-meditated murder," Dub Smith stated.

Dub Smith said the shooting was done on his brother's property.

"He was shot while standing between the fence line and his black Geo Tracker," Dub said. "We was told he was shot right above the left eye on the brow. We all thought at first he was shot in the back of the head. But he was shot from the front."

Dub Smith continued, "What I want to see done ... I just want justice done. I want him to be charged with murder, go to court and be found guilty. To me, it's pre-meditated because he even told my brother he was going to shoot him and he said it while I was there. ... Three days later he was shot on his own property. I would like to see him be found guilty and get life in prison."

No. 9 -- Foote sentenced to 80 years in prison

By Timberly Ferree

STAFF WRITER

In October, a rural Dugger man, who was convicted of molesting his two teenage daughters, was sentenced to 80 years in prison.

On Aug. 22, George A. Foote, 38, was found guilty by jury of two counts of child molesting, both class A felonies, and two counts of child molesting, one a class B felony and the other a class C felony.

Foote was arrested in October 2007 following an investigation by the Greene County Prosecutor's Office and the Greene County Office of the Indiana Department of Child Services that started on March 13, 2007 when one of the girls told a Bloomfield School guidance counselor about the molestations.

Foote first went to trial in April 2008, but that ended in mistrial when a problem with a juror developed.

Charges were re-filed by the prosecution and Foote was tried for the second time in August using a jury brought from Knox County.

During the 2008 trial, the two teen girls testified that Foote repeatedly molested each of them dating back to at least 2004.

Although, the older of the two victims said the molestations went back 13 years when she and her sister were 4 and 3 years old, respectively.

During the sentencing, Greene County Prosecutor Jarrod Holtsclaw called Foote "the worst of the worst among child molesters" and he acknowledged this was the toughest case he has tried.

"He (Foote) chose to try and satisfy himself," the prosecutor stated in his closing statement. "Nothing that you do here today is going to fix what these girls (the victims) went through."

Holtsclaw said Foote had betrayed the fatherly trust that his biological daughters were entitled to.

"The things he made him do is despicable," the prosecutor said. "He took the normal life of two girls and killed them for this own sexual gratification."

In his sentencing, Judge Erek Allen spoke directly to Foote and said, "I believe this is a sentence that reflects the severity of what you did."

Judge Allen also explained that Foote had violated the trust of the two victims as their biological father in the "most heinous fashion possible."

Court testimony showed that Foote was guilty of a variety of sex acts -- including intercourse with at least one of the victims.

The judge acknowledged that Foote had no previous criminal record. But said since the molestations occurred over a long period of time the defendant had plenty of time to reflect on his actions, stop them and seek counseling.

He was given credit for 88 days spent in the county jail while awaiting sentencing.

Foote will be eligible for parole in about 40 years when he is 78 years old. If he is paroled, he will have to register for life as a violent sexual offender.

Foote was also fined on each count, assessed court costs and ordered to pay a variety of sexual victim assistance fees, public defender fees and other costs related to the case which cost almost all of the $10,500 cash bond he had put up after his arrest.

Defense attorney David E. Schalk, of Bloomington, told the court that he plans to appeal the case.

The girls -- who have since changed their names -- have been adopted by foster parents and are now living outside of the county.

No. 10 Shots fired in road rage incident

By Anna Rochelle

STAFF WRITER

On Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 19, a shot fired from one truck hit another truck in an unusual incident of road rage that rolled over miles of highways in Greene County before it ended.

After the shot was fired, the two vehicles involved were reported to be traveling at high rates of speed, one behind the other. With a dispatcher at the Greene County Sheriff's Department in contact with both drivers, they were led into a trap near the "Lighthouse Junction" on State Road 57 north of SR 54. There the rolling incident came to an end on the side of the highway as they were intercepted by deputies and stopped.

One of the vehicles involved was a wine-colored Ford Explorer being driven by 20-year-old Michael Tennant of Linton. The other vehicle was a blue S-10 pickup being driven by 36-year-old Gary Parsley of Worthington.

Parsley was first transported to the hospital following the incident, then arrested and later released after posting $15,000 bond.

Parsley was charged with three felonies and one misdemeanor: Attempted aggravated battery, a class B felony; attempted battery with a deadly weapon, a class C felony; criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, a class D felony; and reckless driving, a class B misdemeanor.

Parsley is accused of firing one shot from his vehicle, using a Browning 9 mm handgun, which hit the other being driven by Tennant.

Greene County Sheriff's Deputy Terry Wade, the officer who arrested Parsley and conducted an investigation into the incident with GCSD Det. George Dallaire, detailed the incident in a probable cause affidavit.

The affidavit states the following took place: Tennant was eastbound on SR 54, near the Phil Harris Golf Course east of Linton in the Explorer, when Parsley, who was also eastbound in the S-10, passed Tennant.

When Parsley then slowed his vehicle down to approximately 40 mph, Tennant attempted to pass Parsley but said Parsley accelerated causing Tennant difficulty getting back into the eastbound lane.

When Tennant did get back in, Parsley then passed Tennant back and is alleged to have immediately applied his brakes giving Tennant no time to stop. The front of Tennant's vehicle made impact with the back of Parsley's.

Tennant then passed Parsley again -- on the right side of the roadway -- and continued east toward Switz City.

While the incident was happening, both drivers called 911 on their cell phone.

The first call was made at 2:47 p.m. by Parsley who said he had just been rear-ended by the Explorer (Tennant) at 70 mph and the vehicle took off. He said the Explorer had tried to run him off the road and he was following it. They had turned south at Switz City and were heading towards Lyons at a high rate of speed.

The second call was made at 2:48 p.m. by Tennant who said he needed some help because a crazy person was chasing him. He said there had been an accident and that the other driver had gotten a gun out.

At 2:51 p.m., Tennant called 911 again and said Parsley had just shot his truck and that he had turned around in the middle of the highway before reaching Lyons and was headed back toward Switz City. He said he was afraid to stop because Parsley might shoot at him again.

When a dispatcher called Parsley back and told him to stop, he did not -- he continued to chase, or follow, the Explorer and said it was probably running at 110 mph.

Directed by the dispatcher, at the intersection of SR 67 and 157, Tennant, followed by Parsley, turned south.

They were met by Deputies Terry Wade and Brad Deckard who stopped the two just north of County Road 100 N. With guns drawn, the deputies ordered the drivers out of their vehicles.

When the black Browning 9 mm was retrieved from the passenger seat of Parsley's truck, the gun had a partially loaded magazine, the hammer was cocked back and a live round was chambered.

A copper round from a 9 mm was found on the driver's side of Tennant's vehicle almost directly under the gas pedal. The hole made by the gun shot was between the left front tire and the driver's side door. The 9 mm round appeared to have traveled through the driver's side and stopped just under the driver's feet.

Tennant was not found to be in possession of any type of firearm and no charges were filed against him.

Parsley's case is scheduled to go to trial on March 17.